Elongated candy package



April 21, 1964 J. G. JOHNSON ELONGATED CANDY PACKAGE Filed 001;. 8, 1958 INVENTOR: JOHN G. JOHNSON ATT'Y United States Patent 3,130,953 ELONGA'IED CANDY PACKAGE John G. Johnson, Bannockburn, 111., assignor to Walter H. Johnson Candy Co", Chicago, iii a corporation of Iliinois Filed Oct. 8, 1958, Ser. No. 766,119 5 Galina. (=22. 99-189) The present invention relates to packages and more par ticularly to wrappers for packages that are shipped in boxes and sold individually across the counter and by vending machines. Herein packages for candy bars are referred to for purposes of illustration.

Candy bars of the character considered in connection with the invention generally comprise fillings covered with any one of a number of coatings such as chocolate. Furthermore, the candy bars are generally elongated to a bar form which are made flat upon the bottom side for manufacturing expediency and provided with a top that is crowned in various shapes and styles to provide a pleasing and appetizing appearance. The flat bottom side is generally the widest dimension and the lengths and thicknesses vary quite widely with different bars.

In wrapping the bars for handling and shipment the bars are run endwise under a strip of translucent printed glassine paper whose edges are folded down and around the sides to overlap along the bottom where they are adhered together to form a tube which encloses each bar. The tube is sev red between the bars with enough of the strip supplied at both ends to be flattened and sealed to close the package. The flattening may be done with or without side folds being formed therein similar to bellows, and the flattened portions may or may not be folded back upon themselves to complete the package form.

With some wrappers the tube form is modified by loosely receiving the bar and the bellows effect extends the length of the wrapper to provide suflicient width across the top of the bar to receive a maximum size trademark or other indicia printed thereon. This particular construction more or less wastes wrapper paper in the side bellows and the printing thereon is concealed in part due to the concavity thereof. Furthermore, the wrapper has to be of sufiiciently heavy stock that the whiteness of the glassine paper is not darkened or unpleasantly dimmed by the color of the candy coating such as the brown of a chocolate coating showing through. Moreover, due to the looseness of the wrapper around the bar, the bar is free to slide endwise quite measurably with the result that the bars rumple the wrapper when packed and shipped in boxes and the result is a shabby looking bar crumpled at the ends when the box is opened.

Efiorts have heretofore been made to strengthen conventional packaging which include half boxes or strips of heavy brown paper board stock on the bottom of the bar located inside the wrapper. These have not been satisfactory because the bar is still loosely enough packed that it can slip around.

In the present invention, a strip of approximately 7 point white sulphite board is provided which extends the length of a wrapper and across the top of the bar and has a width approximately the width of the bottom of the bar. The wrapper is then shaped snugly around the four corners defined by the board and the bottom of the bar. All four sides are thereby made flat with good panelling eflect for all of the printing thereon and there is little danger of the wrapper being rumpled or the bar slipping therein. The ends beyond the bar can be folded any way desired because the rigidifying effect of the board ends ultimately determine the shape and appearance thereof. Moreover, the board ends can be left merely flattened or they may be folded back upon themselves to the extent required for filling space in shipping boxes. The invention is further characterized by the bar being snugly 3,130,058 Patented Apr. 21, 1964 held in place against shifting by the downward bend of the board at the ends of the package to eliminate the difficulties and rumpling that attend conventional arrangements.

Furthermore, with the invention the packages are held in side to side relationship without any overlapping which occurs with present packages using bottom cards that permit adjoining bars to slide over each other. The invention also eliminates the need for more expensive expedients such as U-shaped bottom cards conventionally used to prevent overlapping.

A further object is product protection provided by the folded end of the package. The fold produces a cushion not accomplished by any conventional method other than those using additional extraneous packing materials for this purpose at additional expense, such as dividers, card board layers or separators or various combinations thereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide a bright, clean, fresh looking package undamaged in shipping which has the appearance and feel of an individual or rigid box container for each bar, thus satisfying the factors favorable to impulse buying at the display point which accounts for as much as of purchases as distinguished from planned purchases.

A further object is to provide a brilliant white and clean appearance background for the printed face of the glassine wrapper with the sides preferably held away from contact with the chocolate coating.

A further object is to provide a package having overall stable dimensions and a firm surface which lends itself to automatically packing the product into boxes, as well as by the conventional hand method.

The invention is also characterized by the pleasing appearance of a continuous surface on the packages when a shipping box is opened in which they are packed.

Furthermore, once Lhe wrapper is opened at one end for eating the candy bar, the opposite end can be squeezed with little efiort to feed the bar out of the package as it is being eaten even though the package snugly fits the car.

Another object resides in the stability of the package and its ease of handling when used with automatic disensing machines.

Other objects of the invention include economy with the wrapper thickness; ease of handling, packaging, and displaying; adaptability for utilizing conventional packag ing machines; and, the improved protection of the candy bar in the package against damage and contamination in handling.

These being among the objects of the invention, other and further objects will become apparent from the drawings, the description relating thereto and the appended claims.

In the drawings one candy bar form is shown as representative of many different forms and two forms of the improved packaging wrapper are shown.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a packaged bar embodying the invention in its preferred form;

FIG. 2 is similar to FIG. 1 but shows the ends as they would be when left unfolded, if desired, while at the same time indicating the form preliminary to that shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a bottom perspective view of the embodi ments in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 shows another form of the invention in relation to a shorter unfolded end portion; and

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional View taken up the line 66 in FIG. 2. Y

Referring now to the drawings in detail, a candy bar is indicated generally at it in PEG. 6 and comprises a central core 11 with nuts 12thereon and covered with a chocolate covering 13. The bottom 14 thereof is flat and preferably of uniform width through a major portion of the length of candy bar. The top 15 may be crowned or shaped in any suitable Way including an embossed design, or word, or merely a thick liquid flow pattern left to follow the shape of the nuts therein.

In packaging the bar for handling a wrapper is provided for each bar. Along the top 15 of the candy bar is disposed a white sulphite strip 16 of preferably 7 point board. The length of the strip may be co-extensive with bar if desired, but preferably extends therebeyond to be bent downwardly as at 17 at the ends to protect to a substantial degree the ends of the candy bar 10. The downward bend may be to the plane of the bottom 14 but preferably is merely slightly bent as shown in the drawing to provide a long substantially continuous panel-like surface 18 having parallel side edges.

Encircling the candy bar 10 and strip is a wrapper 2%) of wax-like paper which is generally translucent because of its thinness. The top or central portion 21 rests against the strip 16 and therebeyond the edges are folded downwardly to form the sides 22 and inwardly into overlapping relationship at 24 against the bottom 14 of the candy bar where preferably the overlapping edges are adhered together by arr-amorphous crystalline wax base adhesive.

The sides 22 of the wrapper beyond the candy bar 10 are folded inwardly as at 26 in a bellows or double fold style and flattened to seal the ends of the wrapper with or without adhesive. Preferably thereafter the flattened ends are folded back upon themselves as at 28 and adhered to the overlap 24 to provide composite layer ends of substantial strength which support the candy bar 10 in place in the wrapping. The package thus formed is then placed in a shipping box along with others like it in side by side relationship with the package extending the'width of the box to hold the bars firmly in place against shock in shipping.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the end of the package including the strip 16a is shown terminating shorter at the end of the wrapper 20 which need not be folded back upon itself, if desired.

In'either embodiment the strip 16 may be adhered to the wrapper for a two fold reason, one of which involves manufacturing expediency and the other flexibility in design. With respect to manufacturing, the strip is applied to the web of the wrapper as a continuous process and thereafter in the wrapping, cutting and folding of the wrapper and the strip provides a backbone arrangement for locating and machine handling of the wrapper which reduces to practically nothing, the rejects and shutdowns that have heretofore arisen in wrapping candy bars.

With respect to design flexibility, the strip itself can be printed and used with a transparent window, or when adhered to a translucent white wrapper, it provides a contrasting background color etfect with the printing on the wrapper without an extra color printing of the wrapper. In most instances a white wrapper will be printed in blue and red and the strip will be white to augment the whiteness of the translucent wrapper.

In packaging the wrapped candy bars in boxes for shipment, the combined widths of the strips along with their length fill the box area from side to side to provide a pleasing appearance with the trademark printed on each unit. Moreover, the strips support the units against shifting and rumpling the wrappers without need for partitions and spacers inthe packing box. Also once a box is opened the individual bars can be lifted out quite easily either by the strip providing rigid top end edges which can be finger gripped and lifted without the wrapper collapsing and requiring repeated attempts, or, the folded end of a unit canbe pressed downwardly and the main portion of the bar levered upwardly for ready grasping.

Having thus described the embodiments of the invention it will be seen how the objects set forth are attained including how the pleasing squared appearance of a fiat sided printed container is attained as distinguished from a loose wrapper, and it will be appreciated how various other and further arrangements and appearances can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which is commensurate with the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A package consisting of an elongated candy bar having a flat bottom of predetermined width and irregular top and side portions, an elongated Wrapper laterally encircling said candy bar and having its side edges overlapping on the bottom side of said bar and forming a double thickness therealong, a strip of heavy paper of a width substantially the same as said predetermined width disposed solely along said top portion of the candy bar and within the wrapper and providing therewith a smooth double thickness along the top of the candy bar of a substantially uni-form width throughout the length of the candy bar, said wrapper being secured to the strip and being longer than the candy bar with its ends collapsed and folded around the ends of the candy bar and along the bottom ends of the candy bar against said overlapping edges to seal the package.

2. The package called for in claim 1 in which said wrapper is translucent with printing thereon and said strip is opaque and of a color showing through the wrapper and contrasting with said printing.

3. An elongated package having the same width throughout its height and length consisting of an elongated arrangement of candy defining a flat bottom of predeterruined width and having an irregular narrow top, a strip of opaque flat stiff paper of substantially the same width as said predetermined Width extending along the top of the candy with its free edges overhanging said inclined sides, an elongated translucent wrapper laterally encircling said strip and candy and having printing within the area. defined by said strip and overlapping side edges forming a. double thickness along the bottom of said candy, said wrapper and strip being longer than said candy and having their ends respectively collapsed and secured together to seal said package, said flat stiff paper having a color showing through said wrapper as background for said printing.

4. An elongated package having the same width throughout its height consisting of an elongated arrangement of candy defining a flat bottom of predetermined width and having inwardly inclined sides and a narrow top, a strip of flat stiff paper of substantially the same width as said predetermined width extending along the top of the candyv and with its free edges overhanging said inclined sides in vertical alignment with the side edges of said flat bottom, an elongated Wrapper laterally encircling said strip and candy and adhered to the strip and having overlapping edges forming a double thickness along the flat bottom of said candy, said wrapper being longer than said candy and having its ends collapsed and secured together to seal said package.

5. The package called for incla-im 4 in'which said wrapper is translucent with printing thereon and said strip is opaque and of a color showing through the wrapper and contrasting with said printing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,692,410 Jones Nov. 20, 1928 1,929,217 Rosen Oct. 3, 1933 1,989,944 Quigg Feb. 5, 1935 21,125,833 D'owling Aug. 2, 1938 2,870,023 Vogt Jan. 20, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 545,113 Great Britain May 11, 1942 OTHER REFERENCES Food, Sept. 1955, page 323. 

1. A PACKAGE CONSISTING OF AN ELONGATED CANDY BAR HAVING A FLAT BOTTOM OF PREDETERMINED WIDTH AND IRREGULAR TOP AND SIDE PORTIONS, AN ELONGATED WRAPPER LATERALLY ENCIRCLING SAID CANDY AND HAVING ITS SIDE EDGES OVERLAPPING ON THE BOTTOM SIDE OF SAID BAR AND FORMING A DOUBLE THICKNESS THEREALONG, A STRIP OF HEAVY PAPER OF A WIDTH SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME AS SAID PREDETERMINED WIDTH DISPOSED SOLELY ALONG SAID TOP PORTION OF THE CANDY BAR AND WITHIN THE WRAPPER AND PROVIDING THEREWITH A SMOOTH DOUBLE THICKNESS ALONG THE TOP OF THE CANDY BAR OF A SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM WIDTH THROUGHOUT THE LENGTH OF THE CANDY BAR, SAID WRAPPER BEING SECURED TO THE STRIP AND BEING LONGER THAN THE CANDY BAR WITH ITS ENDS COLLAPSED AND FOLDED AROUND THE ENDS OF THE CANDY BAR AND ALONG THE BOTTOM ENDS OF THE CANDY BAR AGAINST SAID OVERLAPPING EDGES TO SEAL THE PACKAGE. 